Thank you. I competed against Greg LeMond. When I knew him he was a true sportsman. Greg took a lot of heat in 2001 after he said it was troubling that Lance continued to associate with Dr.Ferrari. He was villainized and attacked by Lance and Lance's followers, but it went far further than that. He was attacked by even the head of the UCI. It should now be clear to all that Greg LeMond was trying to keep the sport from descending into this horrible mess.

Lance would have never been caught if he hadn't been such a jerk to almost everyone around him. Lance was caught because scores of people just couldn't take his antics anymore.

Sports are entertainment, you were entertained... get over it. It’s not like these sporting events really matter to anyone or have life changing impact on anything. This entire conversation is a waste of time.

I know a fellow who is really into cycling and knows a lot about it. A few years ago he convinced me it was impossible that Armstrong did not dope. I did not want to believe it but the way he explained it was totally convincing. Looks like he was right.

39
posted on 01/14/2013 6:09:51 PM PST
by Tea Party Terrorist
(Those who work for a living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living.)

I must say that the excuses for Lancey offered on these pages in the past couple months, offered oftentimes quite violently, by the members of the Lance and Cheryl Fan Club (I know the official name is a little out of date, but we’ll get around to updating it very soon) those excuses have been quite educational while being entertaining at almost the same time:

(1) Everybody does it (Klintonian.)

(2) Sports are shoe biz, therefore ethics don’t apply.

(3) Lancey passed all tests in the past 10 years.

The proponents of the last excuse must be saintly citizens who all come to full stops at all street STOP signs, drive under the posted speed limit all the time, and never ever cheated in high school (that is if they ever attended one), because they don’t seem to realize that the very purpose of cheating is, HOW SHOCKING, SHIRLEY! it is to, to... get away with it, imagine that!

Wasn't he already riding in Europe with Motorola and (then) under contract with Cofidis when he was diagnosed? I remember a dust up when they either cut him or offered him a no salary performance based contract and he quit which (I think) led to the Postal Service team.

My memory is shaky, but I think he had been moving up in status for a couple of years and aready won the Worlds and a few one day classics.

45
posted on 01/14/2013 6:46:59 PM PST
by Baynative
(Those that work for a living are now outnumbered by those that vote for a living.)

According to Dr. Donald Catlins estimate, his lab at UCLA performed more than two dozen tests of Armstrong between 1990 and 2000. In May 1999, USA Cycling sent a formal request to Catlin for past test results  specifically, testosterone-epitestosterone (T:E) ratios  for a cyclist identified by a source with knowledge of the request as Lance Armstrong. Three results indicated high T:E ratios, specifically: a 9.0-to-1 ratio from a sample collected on June 23, 1993; a 7.6-to-1 from July 7, 1994; and a 6.5-to-1 from June 4, 1996.

Roberts and Epstein report: Most people have a ratio of 1-to-1. Prior to 2005, any ratio above 6.0-to-1 was considered abnormally high and evidence of doping; in 2005 that ratio was lowered to 4.0-to-1. But the high ratios had not led to sanctions. In his letter Catlin did not address the 6.5-to-1 result, but he wrote that he had attempted confirmation (a required step) on the 9.0-to-1 and 7.6-to-1 samples, and in both cases the confirmation was unsuccessful and the samples were reported negative. 

I'll try to go back and read Hamilton's book. When the initial team was being put together for the TdF the group started racing in Europe, and they were getting killed. It took the group, collectively, a while to figure out why they rocked the US but were finishing last over there (they weren't doping). Since Armstrong was the star then maybe he wasn't involved with that.

Just curious, what race or TdF stage was it when that iconic rider blew past Armtsrong like he was standing still?

47
posted on 01/14/2013 7:22:13 PM PST
by Vision
(Obama is king of the "Takers." Don't be a "Taker.")

According to Dr. Donald Catlins estimate, his lab at UCLA performed more than two dozen tests of Armstrong between 1990 and 2000. In May 1999, USA Cycling sent a formal request to Catlin for past test results  specifically, testosterone-epitestosterone (T:E) ratios  for a cyclist identified by a source with knowledge of the request as Lance Armstrong. Three results indicated high T:E ratios, specifically: a 9.0-to-1 ratio from a sample collected on June 23, 1993; a 7.6-to-1 from July 7, 1994; and a 6.5-to-1 from June 4, 1996.

Roberts and Epstein report: Most people have a ratio of 1-to-1. Prior to 2005, any ratio above 6.0-to-1 was considered abnormally high and evidence of doping; in 2005 that ratio was lowered to 4.0-to-1. But the high ratios had not led to sanctions. In his letter Catlin did not address the 6.5-to-1 result, but he wrote that he had attempted confirmation (a required step) on the 9.0-to-1 and 7.6-to-1 samples, and in both cases the confirmation was unsuccessful and the samples were reported negative. 

Well done.

48
posted on 01/14/2013 7:24:19 PM PST
by Vision
(Obama is king of the "Takers." Don't be a "Taker.")

"Strock and Kaiter have continuously maintained that Wenzel, team soigneur Angus Fraser and another U.S. team coach had on several occasions injected riders with cortisone, treated them with other steroids (corticoids and anabolics) and provided them with amphetamines and other possible performance-enhancing drugs during the 1990 season in the U.S. and Europe. That other U.S. coach remains unnamed in the suit, but former U.S. national team coach Chris Carmichael reportedly settled out-of-court with plaintiffs in the case in late 2000 or early 2001. Carmichael has repeatedly declined to comment on questions about an out-of-court settlement."

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